Cooch Behar district

Cooch Behar district
District
Clockwise from top-left: Cooch Behar Palace, Gadadhar river near Tufanganj, Mount of Rajpat in Gosanimari, Torsa river near Cooch Behar, Madan Mohan temple
Location of Cooch Behar in West Bengal
Country	India
State	West Bengal
Division	Jalpaiguri
Headquarters	Cooch Behar
Government
• Lok Sabha constituencies	Cooch Behar
• Vidhan Sabha constituencies	Mathabhanga, Cooch Behar Uttar, Cooch Behar Dakshin, Sitalkuchi, Sitai, Dinhata, Natabari, Tufanganj
Area
• Total	3,387 km2 (1,308 sq mi)
Population  (2011)
• Total	2,819,086
• Density	830/km2 (2,200/sq mi)
• Urban	10.27%
Demographics
• Literacy	74.78% (2011)
• Sex ratio	942 (2011)
Time zone	UTC+05:30 (IST)
Vehicle registration	WB-64
Major highways	NH 17
Average annual precipitation	3201 mm
Website	coochbehar.nic.in

Cooch Behar district (pronounced [ˈkuːtʃ biˈɦaːr]) is a district of the Indian state of West Bengal.

Formerly part of the Kamarupa kingdom, the area became the heart of the Kamata Kingdom in the 12th century. During the British Raj, the district was known as Cooch Behar state ruled by the Koch dynasty until 1949, when it became part of India.

The district consists of the flat plains of North Bengal and has several rivers: the most notable being the Teesta, Jaldhaka and Torsa. The district has the highest proportion of Scheduled Castes in the country, where they form a majority.^[1]